Tuesday, November 29, 2011: I was doing things around the house and checked my phone, just like I do every two minutes. Ha. No, my husband would say every two minutes, but really it's like every hour. Well, that time I had missed a call. I checked the voice mail and I hear, "Hello, Shannon! This is Monica from The Rachael Ray Show in New York. I wanted to chat with you for a bit, so could you call me back at xxx-xxx-xxxx, please? Thanks! Have a good day." Ummm, what?!?!?! I will tell you, the chills and the adrenaline build during that voice mail were like nothing I had felt before. It took 3 more voice mail repeats before I could even jot her name and number down, although the 1st replay was just to hear it again! I put the phone down. Most people would immediately start dialing the number back, BUT if you ever have those true, out-of-body adrenaline experiences, you know there is no way in hell you can speak to someone "professionally" two minutes later. I found my husband outside and told him what I had just listened to. His jaw dropped. So, I got my pad of paper, a pen, my phone, a damn cigarette and went upstairs to get my head together and to speak in the privacy of my bedroom. I stopped by my nine-year-old daughter's room to tell her Rachael Ray called Mommy and she screamed! She started to ask a million questions and I just told her I didn't know anything yet. I made it to my bedroom, called Monica back and darn! It was her voicemail! Ugh. Well, about ten minutes later, Monica called me back and asked if I would be interested in doing an at-home video for Rachael's Top Ten Recipes of 2011 show. Uh, yeah, of course!!! So, after 4 days of planning, going through camera nightmares, practicing, retakes, prepping, making my kitchen look like a "T.V. kitchen," I finally have wrapped it all up and sent the footage on to Monica!
Now, remember my injury here? The whole reason for the slow down of this blog? The reason for all my doleful rants on Facebook? The whole reason I was going crazy because I couldn't "feed my family like I want to?" Yeah. Here's a time where not only do I have to have makeup on, decent clothes on, a smile on, but I have to stand. And I have to stand for a long time. I have to practice in the mirror. I have to help my husband get the camera angle correct. I have to go through the whole shebang over and over. I have to prep my food perfectly. I have to make sure everything in the camera's eye is clean, organized and T.V. ready. Yes, this is a lot of standing. By the end of day one, I was in so much frickin' pain. I did the last leg of the video for Recipe #1 (no pun intended), and I could barely see straight. I wanted to cry, and as soon as that camera went off for the last time, I did. The next day, my poor foot was a balloon. I couldn't walk. There was no way I could do Recipe #2 that day. I was confined to the bed...again. But, wait! I was given a deadline and it was all supposed to be there Friday morning! I had so many camera issues the first day, I had to eventually resort to a Hi 8mm camcorder instead of my digital camcorder, which means I have to SNAIL MAIL the videos! (I'll wait for all the gasps to subside)... ... ... .... ... I can't even put weight on my foot and I am supposed to have both videos/recipes to Monica in the morning. Aye. I told Monica I had camera issues and the footage was going to have to be mailed to her...like in the "real" mail. She gave me the "okay," and I was so relieved (never telling her I was in the damn bed for a balloon foot). So, after a day of bed rest, my foot seemed to be somewhat better (I could put weight on it) and I taped video #2 this (Friday) morning. My husband mailed it off early afternoon and it should be there Monday. Video #2 was easier. We knew what worked for the camera, I knew how it was going to go and it wasn't as much food prep, etc. I do hope they choose video #1 for her Slow Cooker: Chicken and Biscuits. Mainly because I worked soooo hard on that one and pushed through so much pain and furthermore, my kids also made a cameo appearance!
So, there's the lovely beginning to my Rachael Ray shoot. My, oh my. And here I am, ready to start taping video #2!!!
Moreover, I did take a few personal photos of RR's Chicken-and-Bacon Mac & Cheese that I prepared for video so I could also blog it. My family loved this!!! I also added a slight twist at the end to make it my Texas own. I did make it according to her recipe except one slight variation at the end, so please check it out to get all the details on how to prepare this. I will give you the short version since I have already gone on-and-on about the taping days themselves. :) This one is really easy, folks. Give it a whirl!
Ok, I grilled my chicken on my outside grill. Just make sure you pound the chicken to get it all one thickness so it will cook evenly and cut into even pieces for ya. Salt and pepper it. Drizzle with EVOO.
Meanwhile, cut a large onion, lengthwise, into quarters. Thinly slice it. Go ahead and roughly chop about a tablespoon and a half of fresh thyme on your board while you're at it. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a skillet, on medium heat.
Start your pasta water. In a separate skillet, cook some bacon until crisp. Add your onions to your melted butter and let them go for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and slightly caramelized.
Bacon Tip: Take your 6 slices of bacon and put them in the freezer for about 1-2 hours before cooking. Let them firm up nicely and then cut the bacon into lardons. The firmness makes the bacon SO much easier to cut up.
Once pasta water comes to a boil, salt the water generously and cook your pasta until just shy of al dente. I used whole wheat penne here. I like the hole through the middle of the pasta so the sauce can get up in there. It also has nice ridges, which also allow the sauce to stick to the pasta itself. Drain, then add back to pasta pot. When the bacon is fully cooked, add to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Cut chicken breasts (after a nice rest, of course) in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise, into cubes. Preheat oven to a high broiler.
When the onions are nice and golden, whisk in two heaping tablespoons of flour and let cook for about two minutes. Then, whisk in 1/2 cup chicken stock and then 2 cups whole milk. Let that mixture cook to a slight boil and until it thickens nicely. Add thyme, salt and pepper, and then grate in fresh nutmeg. Lastly, add 1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar and 1 cup shredded gruyere and let cheese melt completely.
Gruyere tip: Gruyere always has a rind on it that must be cut away before consumption. DO NOT throw away the rinds! Freeze them and next time you make french onion soup or another type of hearty soup, add the rinds in the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Remove before serving. They add a wonderful richness to soup...especially my French Onion Soup!
Add chicken, bacon and sauce to the pasta and stir well. Taste your seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if needed. You can see that I have split this into two buttered casserole dishes. Well, my kids like it just the way Rachael has written it. I actually like to add some spice to it. So, I split the recipe into two portions, and add about 3/4 of a can of HOT Rotel to the "adult version" and stir. Make sure you drain the excess liquid out of the Rotel. You don't need it in this. The "kids version" is without Rotel. Pop the casserole dish(es) in the broiler, and let cook for about 7-10 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly!
Here is the recipe, if made my way, with adding the Rotel:
Enjoy!!! And congrats to Rachael Ray on her Top Ten Recipes of 2011!
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